Releasable holding device for closures



April 1, 1941.

A. H. BREITENWISCHER RELEASABLE HOLDING DEVICE FOR CLOSURES Filed July1'7, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 1941- A. H. BREITENWISCHER ,237,046

RELEASABLE HOLDING DEVICE FOR CLOSURES Filed July 17, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 1, 1941 UNITED if STATES PATENT OFFICERELEASABLE DEVICE FOlt Adolph H. Breitenwlscher, Ottawa Ohio ApplicationJuly 17, 1940, Serial No. 345,971

(Cl. 16-85) When, by movement'of the strap, the buffer was 11 Claims.

My invention relates, generally, to a means for holding a closure in anopen Position, notwithstanding the application of gravitational forceson the closure, tending to move the same to a closed position. Theinvention re1ates,particularly, to a releasable means for restraining aclosure against movement from a desired open position, said meansincluding elements automatically operative to establish a restraint of,or to release a closure from restraint, by the manual movement of theclosure to or from a desired open position.

The invention is, particularly, adapted for use in conjunction with aclosure of the character commonly provided for closing the doorway ofthe tonneau of an automobile. A closure or door of this type is,usually, hingedly supported for free swinging movement on the tonneauframe to permit an advantageous ease of opening and closing movements,as when passengers are boarding or being discharged from the vehicle.However, when thus discharging or loading passengers, the vehicle andthe tonneau. frame supporting the door may be inclined, due to theinclination of the roadway supporting the vehicle. The freedom withwhich the door swings,

drawn to an enclamped relation within the embrace of the spring actuatedarms, in response to movement of the door to an open position, the

strap propped the door against closure with a resistance directlyconditioned on the capability of the arms to clampthe bufier with apressure sumcient to withstand the end thrust exerted by the strap andbuffer on said arms, in response to the gravitational moments exerted bythe door and relayed to said strap. The end thrust, thus applied, wasexerted substantially at right angles to the direction of the resilientefiort of the arms and was transmitted, through clasping shoulders,formed on the arms, and the arms themselves, to

-; the resilient axis of thespring arm. The resilient axis of the arm,in the prior art constructions, was disposed in offset relation to aline drawn between said shoulder and the anchorage point-of at suchtimes, works to a considerable disadvan- 1 may be in a horizontalposition at the time of I.

passenger discharge or loading, the pull of gravity on the open doorcauses the door to swing to a closed position. As is well known, atonneau door is, usually, of an unwieldy mass and dimension so that, inswinging from an open to a closed position in response to a gravitymoment, the

force of an impact, delivered by such swinging door, is considerable.Not only is the impact, delivered by a free swinging door, menacing tothe safety of the passengers boarding or discharging from the vehicle,but, also, the tendency of the door to swing closed, is of considerableinconvenience and annoyance.

The efforts heretofore made by others to cope with the problem,contemplated by my invention, have not been satisfactory. In the main, astrap has been, heretofore, commonly provided, one end thereof beingconnected to the door and the other end being provided with a buiferpart adapted to be clamped by a plurality of opposed, flat-spring armsmounted on and surrounding an opening formed in the tonneau frame,through which the strap extended and could be reciprocably moved as thedoor swung on its hinges.

said arm on the tonneau frame. Thus, the resilient axis was put indirect shear and under twisting distortions, not only when the bufferwas clamped to prevent closing of the door, but, also, when the bufierwas being moved to and from a clamped, door-holding position. Theapplication of these shearing and twisting strains, first, in onedirection, and, then, in an opposite direction, produced an earlyfatigue and failure, necessitating frequent replacement and repair ofparts .to maintain any operating efliciency whatsoever. The reoccurringneed for replacement and repair, in the prior art devices, as comparedto the relatively higher efficiency of other commercial mechanisms, wasdeemed unreasonable by users and resulted in general dissatisfactionwith and discard of such devices. a

My invention, on the other hand, affords, and has for an object toprovide, an operable friction means for frictionally engaging saiddoor-prop ping strap. When said frictional means is operating to engagethe strap, the end thrust, exerted by said strap, will be resisted by africtional force sufficient to maintain the closure in a positionrelative to the opening it controls, notwithstanding gravitationalmoments, that may be applied to said closure, tending to move it fromsaidposition. However, when the said friction means is not operating,the closure may be moved freely, relative to its controlled opening.

The invention has for another object to provide a means forv operatingsaid friction means i at predetermined periods in the movement of openposition. The invention, therefore, provides a means which overcomes thedisadvantage of a free-swinging vehicle door closure, without limitingthe freedom of door movement in the normal use thereof.

Also, by the provision of a periodically oper-- ative frictional meansfor releasably restraining the closure in some predetermined openposition, as distinct from a resilient clamping means common to the art,my invention provides a closure holding device having a comparative1ongevity of efficient and desired performance with little need forreplacement and repair of the parts thereof. The invention has for afurther object to provide, in such resilient actuating means as isutilized in embodiments of my invention, an anchorage means thereforaligned with the resilient axis and the point of delivery of theresilient effort when the counterthrusts or forces, tending to distortand twist the resilient means beyond its elastic limit are applied tosaid point of resilient effort and, thus, will be borne, largely, by theanchorage means, rather than by the resilient axis, as in the prior art.

A particular object of my invention is to provide a means for staying aclosure, and having such compactness as to enable the location andassembly of said means with the closure unobtrusive to the appearanceand use of the closure.

The invention has for another particular object to provide a device ofthe class described having, by reason of the various hereinafterdescribed parts, that simplicity, inexpensiveness, and operativeefliciency desired in devices of this character.

The invention consists in other features and advantages which willappear from the following description and upon examination of thedrawings. Structures containing the invention may partake of differentforms and still embody the invention. To illustrate a practicalapplica-' tion of the invention, I have selected a releasable holdingdevice for closures as an example of the various structures and detailsthereof that contain the invention and shall describe the selected.

structure hereinafter, it being understood that variations may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. The particularstructure selected is shown in the accompanying drawings and describedhereinafter.

Fig. 1, of the accompanying drawings, illustrates a perspective view ofa releasable holding .device for closures, embodying the features of myinvention and selected for purposes of illustrating the same inassembled relation with regard to a closure and its supporting frame,parts of which are shown cutaway to facilitate disclosure of theassociated relationship. Fig. 2 illu'strates a view of a longitudinalsection of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a view of asection taken along the plane of the line 3-3, indicated in Fig. 2. Fig.4 illustrates, diagrammatically, in elevation, a position of the partsduring one stage in the operation thereof. Fig. 5 illustrates,diagramatically, in elevation, a position of the parts in a sequentialstage of operation to that shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 illustrates,diagrammatically, in elevation, a position of the parts in a stageof'operation sequential to that shown in Fig. 5. Fig 7 illustrates,diagrammatically, in plan, a position that the parts may assume at astage substantially corresponding to that shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 8illustrates, diagram- -matically, in plan, the position of the parts ina stage sequential to that shown in Fig. 7. Fig.

9 illustrates, diagrammatically, in plan, the position of the parts in astage of operation successive to that shown in Fig. 8.

Viewed broadly, the particular embodiment of my invention, selected forpurposes of illustration, includes a case or box for supporting andhousing-an operable friction means, said case adapted to be mounted onthe door frame or on the door, according to the convenience of theparticular arrangement. The operable friction means may be embodied in apair of spaced bearin parts, at least one of which is mounted formovement toward the other to restrict passageway therebetween at desiredperiods. Preferably, a means is provided for resiliently urging thebearing parts away from each other, within the limits of movementallowed by the mounting thereof in the supporting box, so that thepassageway therebetween may be rendered unrestrictive at other desiredperiods. Pivotally attached to the door or its supporting frame,depending upon whether the box has been mounted on the supporting frameor door, is a doorpropping strap or link. The link extends substantiallyangular to and between said bearing parts, being guided thereby forreciprocal endwise-movement relative thereto, as the door swings to andfro on its supporting frame. Mounted on and proximate to the freeend ofthe link is a means for operating' said frictional means elements. Inthe particular form shown, said operating means includes a cam part,which engages the movable bearing part and urges it toward the surfaceof the link and into frictional engagement therewith, as the link ismoved, relaments of the parts above referred to in a general way areillustrated, it will be noted that the therein shown automobile door Iis supported, for free swinging movements relative to thetonneaudoorway, by suitable hinges, not shown, on a door post 2, such as iscommonly supplied in the The door bent to structurally support bodypanels 8 in spaced relation and, thereby, defines a chamber within whichthe various parts embodying my invention may be advantageously locatedto render the same unobtrusive to the appearance of the vehicle body andto the use of the passageway. To render-said chamber avail-able, alignedand suitably slotted openings-4 are formed in the sheet metal portionsof the door post,2.

As shown in the drawings, the frictional means, of the particularembodiment of my invention, is mounted on the door post 2. Accordingly,within the chamber defined by the panel-s 3 is located a metal case orbox 5 for supporting said frictional means. The box'has a rather large,central, opening 6, which is disposed, in the mounting of the box 5 onthe chamber side of the post 2, in alignment with the openings l. Thesaid frictional means is embodied in a pair of bearing parts 8, the endsof which extend through suitable journal slots 1, formed in the box 5,so as to dispose the parts 8 in spaced parslots 1 are of such dimensionas to allow a certain limited freedom of transitory and reciprocalmovements of the ends of the pants 8 with reference to the box 5. In theform shown, the parts 8 are interconnected by a resilient bow portion 9,which resiliently resists movement of the parts 8 toward each other andforms a convenient means for securing the parts 8 in position within thebox. In this connection, the box 5 may be provided with a foldable metaltab extension l0, which may be bent over the bow portion 9 to removablylock the parts 8 in position within the box 5 and the slots 1.

Thus, it will be seen that, if a pressure is applied to surfaces I 2 ofthe bearing parts 8, sufficient to overcome the resistance of the bow 9and the inherent resiliency of the parts 8, the bearing parts 8 tend toapproach each other, bringing opposed bearing surfaces 13 thereof incloser proximity and in greater restriction to any movement between theparts 8. When, however, the pressure is relieved from the surfaces I2,the parts 8, in response to their own resiliency, as aided by that ofthe bow 9, spring apart permitting free movement between said parts andsurfaces 43.

Extending through the openings 8 and 6 and between the parts 8 is adoor-propping strap or fiat link H. The link H is, normally, freelyreciprocal with reference to said openings and parts. One end of thelink H is adapted to be pivotally connected to the hinge edge of thedoor I by a suitable pivotal connection it. As

the door I is swung, relative to the post 2, the

link It will be reciprocally moved relative to the bearing parts 8 andbe guided thereby. When, however, the parts 8 are moved toward eachother, the surfaces i3 thereof will frictionally engage the surfaces ofthe major area of the link ii and restrict the continued movementthereof and that of the door I attached thereto.

The means for operating said parts 8, to cause frictional engagementwith the link lateral surfaces, is carried by the link itself and is sodisposed thereon as to cause said operation at a period in the movementof the link that corresponds with the movement of the door just prior toreaching or just subsequent to leaving the maximum open position of thedoor.

cam parts it mounted on said link II, on. either side of and in contactwith the fiat surfaces of the link. Each cam part M has a cam surface,such as the semi-spherical face I9, which is adapted to engage a surfacel2 of one of the parts 8, when, due to the movement of the link H, thecam part it is brought into registration Said bearing part operatingmeans includes 'a pair of with the part 8. The cam parts l4, thence,exert a pressure on the parts 8, tending to move the surfaces l3 thereofinto frictional engagement with the fiat surfaces of the link. Furthermovement of the link causes the cam part to engage the bearing part withgreater pressure, producing an increased frictional engagement betweenthe surfaces of the bearing parts and link and establishing a resistanceto movement of the link in any direction. The resistance to movement ofthe link is, of course, transmitted to the door I and functions to staythe door in some predetermined position, such as an open position.

In order to render the device automatic and to provide an even morepositive restriction of the link movement, the cam parts M are,preferably,

- mounted for movement away from and toward cordingly, the cam parts areconnected to movable resilient arms IS, the ends of which may beconveniently interconnected by a bow IT. The arms are formed,preferably, from a fiat spring metal and are connected to the link bysuitable anchoring washers and rivet l8. When thus mounted, the arms l5cause the parts M to press, normally, against the link surface and,thus, define, between said arms and link, a pair of recesses 28. Nowthen, when the door I is moved toward an open position and to causeengagement of thecams I4 with the parts 8, just as the door reaches itsopen position, the cams disengage the surfaces l2 of the parts 8 andree-ngage the surfaces of the link II. It will be seen that the parts 8will now extend through the recesses 20. The relation may beappropriately compared with that of a latch wherein the cams it may beregarded as latch bolts and the parts 8 as strike plate elements, intowhich the bolts are driven home.

In order to restrict, further, the movement of the link, after the parts8 are in latched position, and to cushion a too rapid or forceful dooropening movement, a suitable rubber bumper block 25 may be provided onthe end of the link it. The block 2i may be centrally cored topermit itbeing located over the end of the link and the arms 5. In a sense, theresiliency of the bumper block reinforces the arms l5 as they are movedby the movement of the cam parts It away from the link surfaces and overthe bearing parts 8. The bumper may be held in position by a suitablewasher 22, whose quadrilateral opening restricts any tendency that thearms i5 might exhibit to turn on their link-connecting rivet i8 from aparallel relation with said link. The washer 22 is held in its positionon the link by the aforesaid rivet and washers It.

In order to guide the cams It! in their movement over the parts 8, thesurfaces l2 are provided with inclined converging cam surfaces 23. Asthe cams id engage the cam surfaces 23, the link will be guided towardthe point of convergence of said surfaces which correspondssubstantially with the center of the opening 6. By thus restricting thelongitudinal movement of the free end of the link H to one substantiallycoinciding with the center of the opening, the link is prevented fromcontacting the box 5 with its attendant objectionable noise and jar.Referring to Figs. 7, 8, and 9 of the accompanying drawings, theinteraction of the cam surfaces 23 with the cams l is graphicallyillustrated. In Fig. '7, it will be noted that the link is, at thatmoment, more proximate to one edge of the opening 8 than to the other.In Fig. 8, it will be noted that, due to the interaction of the cams I4with surfaces 23 of the parts 8, shown beginning in Fig. 4, the link IIhas been gradually shifted from a position more proximate to one edge ofthe opening 6 to a more central position and from a jarring contact withthe edges of the opening 6. Thus, when the parts assume the positionshown in Fig. 9, the link extends substantially at right angles to theparts 8. Thus, also, will the face of the bumper 2| meet squarely withthe flat surfaces of the box 5, to

cushion the blow of a too forceful opening of the door I.

If desired, the arms I! may be, further, resiliently reinforced by aspring member 24, which is mounted in nesting relation to the arms Illand may be secured to the link, inv any suitable manner, as by the rivetand washers l8.

spirit of my invention, as set forth inthe claims hereto appended.

drawn outwardly from the chamber, being freely' guided by the parts 8.The door may be as easily closed, the link ll returning to its startingposition. However, if it is desired to prop the door against a closingmovement, the door is manually moved toward its maximum open position.Just prior to reaching the maximum open position, the link ll will havebrought the cams it into engagement with the parts 8. This relation is,diagrammatically, illustrated in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.The end thrust exerted on the cams i4 is at its maximumwhen the camsfirst engage the parts 8. At this-time, it will be observed that thecams 14,- the rivet l8 and the resilient axis of the arms, are aligned.Thus, the end thrust will be borne by-thelrivet IB' and will not beapplied to the resilient axis of the arm i5. When the link is drawnfurther, the cams M will ride upon and exert a pressure on the surfacesl2, causing the, parts 8 to move toward each other and to apply, throughthe engagement of the surfaces i3 with the lateral surfaces of the linkII, a frictional resistance to the continued movement of the link. Thisresistance is sumcient to resist the thrusts exerted by the link inresponse to gravitational moments exerted by the door and will, also,serve to check the door if its opening movement is induced by suchgravitational moment. This position of the parts is, diagrammatically,illustrated in Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings. Assuming, further,that the door is manually moved beyond this point, the link may be drawnfurther from between the parts 8 until the cams H, in response to theresiliency exerted by the arms l5, reengage the surfaces of the link II,which action is shown about to take place following the stage,diagrammatically, illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.Now, the parts 8 extend through the recesses and the link and box 5 areeffectively latched together. The door I will, thus, be propped open bythe link. The force, necessary to release the link and, thus, the door,must be great enough, not only toovercome the mechanical latchment thusprovided, but, also, the friction exerted, continuously, during a,somewhat extended period in the movement of the door from said latchedposition. Normally speaking, gravitational moments exerted by the doorare insufficient to do this. The'necessary force may be manuallydeveloped, however, because of the favoring and selectable leverage ofapplication thereof on the door.

I claim: 7

1. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its supporting member, said device including a link adaptedto be connected to 'one ,of said members and being freely movablerelative to the other of said members; means adapted to be connected tosaid other member and operative to frictionally engage said link tothereby restrict the movement thereof and the relative movement of saidmembers; and means for operating said.

last-named means to produce a frictional engagement'of said last-namedmeans with said} link of a degree that varies in accordance with themovement of the link relative to said other member.

,2. A device for releasably member against movement relative to itssupporting member, said device including a pair of spaced elementsadapted to be connected to one of said members, one of said elementsbeing movable toward the other; a link adapted to be connected to theother of said members and to be, normally, freely reciprocal betweensaid claw-"S 5 element only as the link is moved to a predeterminedposition relative to said elements, whereby further movement of the linkand the relative movement of the members is restricted.

3. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its supporting member, said device including a 'pair ofspaced elements adapted to be connected'to one of said members, one ofsaid elements being resiliently deformable to locate portions thereofmore proximate to the ,other' element than remaining portions thereof; alink adapted to be connected to the other of said members and.

movable toward the other; resilient means for biasing said movableelement away from said other element; a link adapted to be connected tothe other of said members; and means carried by said link for movingsaid movable element against the bias of said resilient means and towardthe other element as the link is moved to a predetermined positionrelative to said elements, whereby further'movement of the link and therelative movement of the members is restricted.

5. A device for releasably holding a closure member in a predeterminedposition relative to an opening in a closure supporting member; saiddevice including an element adapted to be connected to one-of saidmembers; a link adapted to be connected to the other of said members andto move substantially longitudinally in directions substantiallytransverse of the element; and means carried by the link, including anarm supported in spaced relation to the link and having a portion urgedto resiliently press against holding a closuresaid link .at a pointspaced from one end thereof and defining a space for entrapping theelement between the arm and link, when the members are relatively movedto said predetermined position.

6. A device for releasably holding a closur member against movementrelative to its supportingmember; said device including a pair of spacedelements adapted to be connected to one of the members, one of saidelements being movable toward the other; resilient means connected tothe ends of the elements biasing said movable element away from saidother element; a link adapted to be connected to the other of saidmembers; and a cam part carried by said link adapted to engage saidmovable element and press the same against the link when the membershave been moved to a predetermined relative position to thereby resistfurther movement of the link.

7. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its sup-' porting member, said device including a linkadapted to be connected to one of said members and being freely movablerelative to the other oi said members; normally inoperative means,adapted to be connected to said other member, for frictionally engagingsaid link to thereby restrict the movement thereof and the relativemovement of said members; and means for rendering said last-named meansoperative to eflect frictional engagement of said link, when the linkhas been moved to a predetermined position relative to said othermember.

8. A device for releasably holding a closure member in a predeterminedposition relative to an opening in a closure supporting member; saiddevice including an element adapted to be connected to one of saidmembers;'a link adapted to be connected to the other of said members andto move substantially longitudinally in directions substantiallytransverse of the element; and means, carried by the link, including anarm supported for movement relative to the link and having anintermediate portion disposed in spaced relation to the link defining aspace between said arm and link for entrapping the element, when themembers are relatively moved to said predetermined position.

9. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its sup porting member and in a predetermined positionrelative thereto, said device including a part having an opening andadapted to be connected to one of said members; a pair of elements, eachelement being disposed in a plane extending on the side of the centrallongitudinal axis of said part opening opposite to, spaced from, andsubstantially parallel to the plane of disposition of the other elementand supported by said part for relative movement in directionstransverse to said dispositional planes and against substantial movementin directions parallel to said dispositional planes; resilient meansinterconnecting said elements biasing said elements to movein directionstransverse to said dispositional planes; a link adapted to be connectedto the other of said members and to reciprocate through said partopening and between said elements; means, carried by the link, includingan arm, connected to the link, having a cam portion protruding irorn theplane of said arm, located near one end thereof and adapted to engageone of said elements and move the same against the bias of saidresilient means, as one of the members approaches said predeterminedrelative position, and, as the members arrive at said predeterminedrelative position, to permit movement of the said element, in responseto said biasing means to entrap said element between the cam and thepoint of connection of the arm and link, thereby resisting movement ofthe members from said predetermined relative position.

10. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its supporting member and in a predetermined positionrelativethereto, said device including an element adapted to beconnected to one of said members and supported for lateral movementrelative thereto; means for biasing sa-id element against said lateralmovement in one direction; a link adapted to be connected 'to the otherof said members and to move substantially longitudinally in directionstransverse of the element, as the members are relatively moved; means,carried by the link, including an arm, connected to and supported forlateral movement relative to the link, having a cam portion spaced fromsaid arm and link connection, protruding from the plane of said arm andadapted, as the link moves in response to the approach of the members tosaid predetermined relative position, to engage said element to rive atsaid predetermined relative position, to

permit movement of said element in response to the bias of said biasingmeans and of said arm in the opposite direction; and means for biasingsaid arm in said opposite direction to thereby'frictionally andyieldably interlock said link to said element and restrict movement ofthe members from said predetermined relative position,

i 11. A device for releasably holding a closure member against movementrelative to its supporting member and in a predetermined positionrelative thereto, said device including an element adapted to beconnected to one of said members and supported for lateral movementrelative thereto; a link adapted to be connected to the other of saidmembers and to move substantially longitudinally in directionstransverse of the element, as the members are relatively moved; andmeans, carried by the link, including an arm, connected to and supportedfor lateral movement relative to the link, having a cam portion spacedfrom said arm and link connection, protruding from the plane of said armand adapted to engage said element to cause lateral movements of saidelement in one direction and of said arm in the opposite direction, asthe link moves in'respouse to the approach of the members to saidpredetermined relative position, and, as the link moves to a position atwhich the members arrive at said predetermined relative position, topermit movement of said element in the opposite direction and of saidarm in the first-named direction,

to thereby interlock said link to said element and restrict movement ofthe members from said predetermined relative position;

ADOLPH H BREII'ENWISCHER.

